Thursday, June 16, 2011

Re: Problems with Credit Suisse online

Assignment: Do success and happiness depend on the choices people make rather than on factors beyond their control? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

Main idea: Success and failure depend on choices we make, not on factors beyond our control.

Argument one: Definition of success and happiness are different for everyone. Having a billion dollars in the bank might be the parameter of success for you but it is not for me. We define success for ourselves and we find happiness within us. A person who seeks happiness from owning an iPhone or a Ducati is no better than the lotus-eaters or people who seek happiness at the bottom of a whiskey bottle.

Argument two: After you define success and happiness, you make choices leading up to success or failure. Yes, there are always external factors beyond your control but that is no reason to say that factors beyond your control are the only factors that determine success and happiness. If it is so, then you failed at choosing what constitutes success and what constitutes happiness. For example, if you said you would only be happy if you personally kill every single person alive, you are stacking up the odds against yourself. You made a choice to stack up the odds against yourself. In other words, it was your choice all along.

Closing idea: It is your life. This is a game where you get to determine the rules and change them as you see fit. Use your powers and see how it changes the world around you.

Disclaimer: This is just an example of writing and not intended to be financial and/or medical advice. Please talk to a professional if you need help.